Improvement in artificial legs



'ATENDr EEICE3 GEORGE B. .IEIVET'E OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT EN ARTIFICIAL LEGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. dlihl, dated October 4, 1864.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. J EwETT, a resident of Salem, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have made a new and useful invention having Vreference to an Articial Leg; and I do hereby declare the Vsame to be fully described in the following specification, and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l is a front view, and Fig. 2 a side elevation, of an artificial leg and my invention or secondary supporter applied thereto.

The purpose of my said invention is to hold the leg firmly up to the stump of the wearer (whatever position it or the body of the wearer may assume) when, owing to the shortness of the stump, the single or primary strap by which, in cases of amputation below the knee, and particularly when the stump is short, the artificial leg is ordinarily supported, may be insufficient to prevent the leg from sagging or dropping more or less away from the stump. The secondary supporter77 is particularly serviceable to the wearer when indulging in horseback riding, or while walking either up or down stairs. In the latter case it causes the step taken by the artificial leg to approach 4closely to that of the natural leg, and without any liability of sagging of the artificial leg. The great facility by which the wearer of the artificial leg with the secondary supporter is enabled to go up and down stairs is owing in a measure to the freedom of the thigh from the encumbrance, discomfort, and danger of the leather band used with and deemed essential to most other artificial legs, and which my secondary or auxiliary supporter renders unnecessary. -Vitli my invention the perfect freedom of the thigh from the said broad leather band and its metallic connections with the artificial leg enables the muscles to play freely and naturally, the circulation of the blood being at the same time uninterrupted.

In the drawings, A denotes the artificial leg, which may be supposed to be of the kind on which Letters Patent No. 35,686 were granted to me on the 24th day of June, A. D. 1862. The primary strapv usually worn with the leg and going up in front of the thigh is represented in part at B as connected by branches a c to the two eyes or rings b b at the upper part of the artificial leg-socket. It will readily be seen that when the body bends forward there is a tendency to shorten 'the primary strap, so as to allow the artificial leg a chance to sag or fall more or less away from the stump.

In order to keep the artificial leg well up to the stump under a forward bending of the body relatively to the thigh or limb wearing the artificial leg, as well as during any bending or fleXure of the limb relatively to thc body, such as would tend to lessen the upward draft of the primary strap on the artificial limb, I make use of the auxiliary or secondary supporter, which is represented at O, and consists not only of an elastic band, c, depending from or to be applied to a body-belt, D, but an elastic crossed belt or band, e, which goes around the back of the leg and crosses on its front directly above the knee-joint, and is secured to the two rings b .b at the top of the artificial leg.

. The elastic band c may be connected with the middle part of' the crossed band e by means of a buckle, f, fastened to the latter, the same being in order that the said elastic band may be either shortened or let out to suit the convenience, necessity, or comfort of the wearer. Instead, however, of having the buckle fastened to the crossed band, the elastic strap may be attached to the crossed band, in which case the buckle would have to be applied to the belt. As the elastic band goes up in rear of the thigh and back of the wearer, any bending forward of the body or lifting of the leg will tend to elongate the elastic band and draw the artificial leg up to the stump of the natural leg, in which state the crossed straps will operate in holding the artificial leg firmly in place.

What I claim as my invention isrlhe combination of the secondary supporter, made substantially as described, with the artificial leg and the primary supporter thereof, the whole being as and for the purpose or objects as hereinbefore specified.

GEO. B. .IEVET Witnesses:

R. H. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr. 

